Boston Symphony Orchestra

$40.00

BSO and Tanglewood patrons will be pleased to learn that this book
includes photographic images residing in the BSO Archives taken by
Heinz Weissenstein of Whitestone Photo and Walter H. Scott.

ABOUT LEONARD BERNSTEIN 100

An elegant, captivating collection of significant photographs to
celebrate the iconic 20th century composer/conductor's Centennial
in 2018.

Leonard Bernstein was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts, the son of
Eastern European Jewish immigrants. He died 72 years later, an
international superstar and American icon. He achieved a level of
celebrity that few musicians, and fewer classical musicians, ever
attain. The first American-born musician to become the leader of a
major American orchestra, Bernstein launched a new era, still very
much alive today, broadening the path for all American musicians
ever since.

Bernstein's life captivated the public, giving rise to many
indelible photographs by many of the greatest photographers of the
20th Century. Whether on stage or backstage, jet-setting from
country to country, partying with other celebrities or at home with
his family, this book tells Bernstein's story through the lenses of
such masters as Richard Avedon, Heni Cartier-Bresson, Bruce
Davidson, Alfred Eisenstaedt, Ernst Haas, Ken Heyman, Stanley
Kubrick, Gjon Mili, Ralph Morse, Carl Mydans, Arnold Newman, Ruth
Orkin, Gordon Parks, and Irving Penn.

Bernstein landed squarely in the public eye beginning in 1943,
when his last-minute conducting debut with the New York
Philharmonic, broadcast nationwide from Carnegie Hall, caused a
media sensation. The dynamic young musician was barely 25 years
old. Fifteen years later, as the New York Philharmonic's Music
Director, he began regularly presenting the orchestra's Young
People's Concerts over the CBS television network. Leonard
Bernstein became a household name across the nation.

But Bernstein was so much more. He was also a celebrated composer
in multiple genres; from orchestral and choral music to operas and
ballets, as well as several Broadway musicals, including the much
beloved West Side Story.

A true renaissance man, Bernstein was above all a sharer and
advocate for culture and ideas. He created a devoted,
multigenerational audience of music lovers around the world; his
extensive travels brought him into contact with eminent artists,
thinkers, and heads of state. Through all he did, Bernstein strove
to make the world a safer, more peaceful, and more compassionate
place for all peoples.

Leonard Bernstein was a celebrity: a dashingly handsome and
stylish man who, not surprisingly, was constantly being
photographed. Not shy in front of a camera, Bernstein was also not
reticent in his enthusiasms-for people, parties, and late nights.
Leonard Bernstein lived every day with passion and intensity-and
with every passing year, his brash, busy life became written
more clearly into the lines of his face.

This rich trove gives generations to come an unforgettable,
enlightening glimpse into the life of an artist who changed the
face of culture in the 20th century-a life documented by many of
the most important photographic artists of that era.